It may be a "tale as old as time," but "Beauty and the Beast" isn't "true as it can be." Like many fairy tales, the Disney classic you're familiar with is really a new, child-friendly version of a historically dark tale. But this story has even darker roots. For thousands of years, folktales from around the world have included descriptions of a bride with an animal groom. When French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve finally published the first written version of the story in 1740, it was based on a sad but true tale.
Bittersweet and Strange
Something There
Written by
Cody Gough
June 8, 2018
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